Partial brain tumor removal with radiation therapy is effective for survival

A study at Mayo Clinic suggests that aggressive surgery may be the best option for survival in children with gliomas, or low-grade brain tumors. Aggressive surgery methods strive for complete tumor removal. If the tumor cannot be removed entirely, patients undergoing less drastic surgery coupled with radiation has been shown to have similar survival rates as complete tumor removal.

Mayo Clinic has long been known to practice aggressive treatment in patients, and this study proves no differently.

When comparing prior studies of similar nature, researchers explain these aggressive, complete removal surgeries are more common as technology improves. Imaging and surgical equipment play a very large role in the outcome of a surgery.

For this study, researchers at Mayo Clinic analyzed 127 individuals with Grade I and Grade II gliomas (brain tumors) between 1990 and 2005. From that group, 90 patients experienced complete tumor removal while 20 patients had partial removal with radiation therapy. Nearly 90 percent of the patients have survived more than 10 years.

Not only is this study the largest of its kind, but it also has the longest duration, as the follow-up period was more than 10 years.

This study proves great results, helping experts to understand that partial brain tumor removal with the addition of radiation therapy is an effective method for treatment if complete removal is not an option.